ELLAVILLE —
Marion County is rolling, and Schley County is hurting.
The Eagles have outscored opponents 82-14 this season while the Wildcats enter tonight’s game with a couple of players out because of injury, including sophomore running back Jonathon Thompson.
“You’d like to be fully loaded, but you go with what you’ve got; that’s all you can do,” said Schley coach Jim McFather. “We’ve had enough experiences — we barred injury last year — but two or three years ago we had injury after injury, and that’s just part of it.”
Thompson rushed for 189 yards in the opener before injuring his knee in last week’s loss to Taylor County. He’s out indefinitely, as Ian Jamieson, who also has a hurt knee.
Darius Pines injured his knee last week and is expected to play, and lineman Carlton Kite is back.
The Wildcats will face their toughest challenge of the young season trying to slow down Marion County’s tandem in the backfield of Zamir Shelton and Ykeem Wells. They have combined for 550 yards and eight touchdowns in two games, and when quarterback FaShawn Swanson is thrown into the mix, the Eagles can be deadly.
“They have a good team over there, and they’ve got a lot of playmakers,” said McFather. “That always presents a challenge. They’re (Shelton, Wells) are a two-headed monster. They’ve got some speed and size, and that presents problems. Their quarterback is a good athlete, too. You’re not just looking at them, they’ve got a couple of receivers out there. The more athletes they’ve got, the better they are off for them. They’re big up front, and when you’ve got strength, size and speed, that’s a good combination.”
Schley led Taylor 7-6 entering the final quarter before the Vikings rattled off 28 unanswered points. The Wildcats wore down late in the game, but McFather hopes some other players can spell the starters.
“Since the summer, we’ve been trying to develop talent,” he said. “We’ve got maybe three or four, or maybe five on the cusp of beginning to grasp what we’re trying to do. Sometimes, it’s not a matter of having athletes, but being able to play within the system and utilizing those athletes.”
Marion coach Mike Swaney understands McFather’s pain as his leading linebacker Solomon Jones will be out until later in the season with a broken leg.
The Eagles have swarmed to the ball defensively, and that’s just what the defensive-minded coach likes.
The only score Macon County had last week was a 65-yard screen pass.
“They run to the ball really well, and that usually prevents big plays,” said Swaney. “We’ve still got a ways to go there. In fact, we’ve worked hard on the secondary tackling this week.”
Swaney said he’d give the Eagles a B-plus through the first two games, but progression needs to continue each week.
“We’ve made a lot of improvement,” he said. “Our kids are getting very conscious of turnovers, and they’re holding onto the ball. We’re cutting down on penalties. We’re satisfied where we are now. There’s still a lot of work to do. The schedule will toughen up in a matter of time.”
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Marion County quarterback FaShawn Swanson looks to have more of an impact against Schley County than he did two seasons ago in a 26-6 loss. Chris Whitaker/ATR
Wildcats, Eagles ready to roll
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